Milly, the loopy alter-ego of performance artist Brigid Murphy, has developed quite the cadre of enthusiastic local fans. Increasingly famous from Murphy’s long-running “Orchid Shows” (an annual Chicago showcase for alternative music and art that featured the Blue Man Group long before they were nationally famous), this sequin-clad and campy country-music singer was the ideal choice to compere Thursday night’s “Summer Soulstice.”
Held at the Park West nightclub, this enjoyably eclectic and hip mix of music, dance and theater was a benefit in support of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. As is typical at events like this, good nature, warmth and patience sometimes substituted for polish, planning and extensive rehearsal. But with this year’s Soulstice raising some $20,000, long-range plans call for it to become an annual event. With the foundation’s main black-tie bash commandeering some $300 a ticket and held in a downtown hotel, this new event is a nice chance for lower income and more alternatively minded folks to contribute to one of Chicago’s worthiest causes.
Entering astride a fake cow, Murphy as Milly offered her typically raunchy but genial collection of songs, comic monologues and even an entertaining video in which Milly demonstrated the merits of a sausage that endlessly expands when placed on a grill.
Musical pleasures included several of Milly’s signature numbers about blue-collar love and the resultant domestic fighting, all sung with earnest, deadpan lust.
The other main attraction was the immensely talented and original Jellyeye Drum Theatre, a locally based troupe that combines bravura drumming with tightly choreographed movement.
The group performed two numbers–including one unusual affair in which different parts of the performers’ bodies acted as percussive surfaces and some players sported cymbals on their heads.
Given the current popularity of stylized percussive performers (“Stomp” and “Noise/Funk” ride this wave), you’d think that the cool and often hypnotic Jellyeye would merit a souped-up production (this group is every bit as good as others in the genre).
Completing the Soulstice were the pleasantly slick jazz-funk sounds of the Robert Cornelius Seven (although there were at least eight of them), providing a mix of danceable disco and R&B covers and a few original cuts from the group’s new album (“To Your Soul” was a highlight).
During one of her brief breaks, Milly let slip that her next official appearance will be on the mainstage of the Civic Opera House, no less, when the Orchid Show makes a special fall appearance at the best of the Lyric Opera of Chicago (Tom Wolfe is on Milly’s guest list). Heady cultural stuff indeed for a performer whose best known number is “I’m a Sucker For a Trucker.”
